President Obama came to office vowing to improve transparency and advocate openness. He hasn’t.

As the Washington Post reported recently, by some measures there is more, not less, secrecy in Washington since he took over.

Media organizations requesting data under the Freedom of Information Act were less likely to receive material last year than in 2010 at 10 of the 15 Cabinet-level departments. The government was more likely last year than in 2010 to claim exemptions to reject disclosures.

What’s worse is the Obama administration’s war against whistle-blowers. The president’s team has set a record for prosecuting leaks to the news media, with six cases to date, more than under all previous presidents combined.

In the latest twist, Congress is getting into the act by pushing a bill that limits intelligence officials’ exchanges with reporters. In a highly charged political season, lawmakers are upset over the leaking of details of the successful raid to kill Osama bin Laden and, later, the use of a cyberspace “worm” to damage Iran’s nuclear-weapons program.

The proposa is transparently political, and probably ineffective. Plus, it would be counterproductive: By eliminating official background briefings on sensitive topics, it would prompt reporters to seek out unofficial sources, resulting in potentially dangerous disclosures.

So far, neither the House Intelligence Committee nor the White House has expressed support for the bill. Plainly, this proposal deserves to meet an early legislative death. Congress should stop trying to one-up the administration in its zeal to promote secrecy. Surely it has better things to do.

Mr. Obama, for his part, should vow to veto the bill should it ever reach his desk. Instead, he should renew his commitment to openness and transparency. His inability to live up to his promises on this front is one failure he can’t blame on Congress.

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